In the Garden District of New Orleans, a historic church-turned-mansion is for sale. Transparency isn’t one of its 99 issues!
Why did the asking price spike $1 miℓℓio𝚗 from $3.5 miℓℓio𝚗 to over $4.5 miℓℓio𝚗 after only one week on the market? Why are the listing photographs from 2015, when the property sold, even though an alleged arson fiгe damaged the structure in July? Who ignited the fiгe?
Why is the property marketed as an FSBO, while the owner’s phone number is registered to a Mississippi immigration attorney? For starters, the ad directs consumers to a nonexistent property marketing website. Google Maps also blurs the magnificent Spanish-style edifice.
The mansion, La Casa de Castille,’s most intriguing fact: The music celebrities own it, even though they never lived there. Sugarcane Park LLC, run by Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, owns the land.
In early 2015, Sandra McNamara sold the property to the Carters for an undisclosed amount. Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office records show McNamara bought the property for $500,000 in 2001.
Besides its strange recent past, the home’s exclusive Zillow listing is intriguing. “The acoustics and vibes are great,” an unnamed “Grammy winner” reportedly said of the property. “Watching the sunset from the rooftop garden was my best writing.”
That listing says the baroque venue has hosted weddings, celebrations, and corporate executives. The sellers will additionally paint the building the buyer’s preferred color before closing.
The 1927 structure, located a half-block off St. Charles Avenue, has three huge arched windows and a Churrigueresque crown.
Although it’s believed to have the original hardwood floors, columns, moldings, and church pews, the building was converted to residential usage in 2000 after being a Presbyterian church and dance school.
The 13,300-square-foot home has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Three 1,000-square-foot one-bedroom apartments with side-street entrances and a rooftop garden with downtown views are also on the property.
The church’s former sanctuary’s 26-foot-tall great room with gleaming oak floors dominates the massive home.
Other 2015 highlights included a red-walled dining room, loft-like seating area, library with built-in bookshelves, and luxurious executive office.
Viking equipment and granite countertops are in a large, vintage kitchen. A large owner’s bedroom suite with a clawfoot tub, sitting area, and walk-in closet is upstairs.
The Carters own a $26 miℓℓio𝚗 East Hampton property, a $88 miℓℓio𝚗 Bel Air mansion, and a 2004 Jay-Z-purchased Tribeca apartment.